I have to read this for my English AS course, but I'm only about half way through. I only undertsand about half of the stuff I've read, even after watching the movie. Hardy uses sentenses with flourishing descriptions, paragraphs that don't push the story forwards, and more foreshadowing than you can shake a stick at. If you don't read such heavy classics as this, then you are going to have some trouble with this. The themes are ok, some are very Biblical though, which reflects the time he was writing in but now, when religion isn't taken so seriously by some, it's hard for them to understand the meaning.<br><br>But the book so far is alright. If you have a choice between this and Great Expectations, go with Great Expectations. This is a hard upwards slog at the best of times. Only read if you want the challenge.<br><br>RJ xxx